The Girls of Gryffindor House
Ginny Weasley was in a bad way. She could see her brothers having the time of their lives at Hogwarts - Percy had been Prefect and Head Boy, Fred and George always had their jokes and their funny friends and a twin brother to keep them company. And Ron had Harry. Lucky Ron, his best friend was the most interesting kid in the whole school. A hero in the battle against evil and a hero on the quidditch field, any girl at school would love to get to know him better. Ginny sighed to herself as she thought about Harry for the fifteenth time that day.
"Kid, you have got to get over this silly childish crush and get on with your life!"
If only it were that easy. Sigh. Maybe if she had a good friend, she wouldn't feel so lonely and she'd have something else to think about other than Harry Potter. The girls in Gryffindor weren't really interested in her, though. Lavender and Parvati kept to themselves and giggled constantly. Angelina and Katie and Alicia were all nice enough, but they were total jocks. All they ever wanted to talk about was quidditch. And quidditch made her think of Harry. Oh, Harry! If only he thought of her as anything other than Ron's little sister.
"Hey, Earth to Ginny, are you there?" It was Hermione Granger, Ron and Harry's friend. "What's going on in your mind that's more interesting than your Potions homework?"
"Ha! I think that the life cycle of the flobberworm would be more interesting than my Potions homework, Hermione. Why does Snape think we need to learn anything as mundane as a potion to banish dandelions from the garden?"
"Well, Ginny, you never know when you might have a horrible over-cropping of dandelions. Maybe they're mad evil dandelions that want to take over the world, and you're the only one who can stop them if you have the correct combination of ingredients!"
Both girls laughed. "I'm glad you came along, Hermione. I was feeling sorry for myself."
"Oh, there's no point in that, Ginny, it just wastes time you could be using doing something really interesting or important. Why just a few minutes ago, I was down in the kitchen talking to the house elves and they're really starting to pay attention to me now..." Ginny wasn't listening anymore. Hermione always had some great scheme to liberate the house elves or to have the best grades in school or to be right at Harry's side just when he needed a partner in crime. Ginny sighed again.
"...and Dobby has them convinced that clothing might not be such a bad idea. Of course he has a hundred different pairs of socks.. and... what's wrong Ginny..?"
"Hermione, do you like Harry?"
"Of course I like Harry! He's one of my best friends!"
"No, you know what I mean. Do you *like* Harry?"
"Oh! Oh, no, not like that. He's fun to be with, but he doesn't even know I'm a girl. He's still a kid, Ginny, he's not thinking about dating and stuff like that. Remember at the Yule Ball, when he only danced once with Parvati and then ditched her in favor of Ron for the rest of the night?"
"Yeah, I know. Ok, I just wondered..."
"Anyway, you know about Viktor."
"Yeah, Viktor." Ginny made a face.
"What? What's wrong with Viktor?" Hermione asked, looking a bit offended.
"Oh, nothing. I mean, obviously he's the best Seeker in the world according to my brothers, but isn't he a bit... old for you? You aren't really serious about him, are you Hermione?"
"Well, I'm not in love with him, if that's what you mean. Still, he's very interesting. He's so intense, with those dark moods and that thick Bulgarian accent..."
"Hermione, what if Ron asked you for a date? Would you go out with him?"
"Ron? That's a funny one. He's even more unaware of my gender than Harry is. No, Ron will never ask me for a date, Ginny. He thinks I'm one of the guys."
Ginny shook her head at Hermione. "I don't think so. I've seen him looking at you differently since Christmas. I think he really likes you." Ginny sighed. "Maybe it's just wishful thinking."
"You want Ron to like me?" Hermione asked, a little pink in the face.
"Sure, Hermione. You're the only friend I have here. Maybe if you and Ron got married someday, we would be sisters. I'd really like to have you for a sister."
Hermione laughed and gave Ginny a quick squeeze around her shoulders.
"If you need a sister, Ginny, you always know where to find me. I'm right in the next room from September until June. And I'm only an owl post away during the summer."
"I know that, Hermione...," Ginny said, with tears starting to pool up in her eyes.
"Oh, Ginny! What's wrong? Please don't cry! Let's go take a walk and you can tell me what's on your mind."
The girl's dormitories at Gryffindor House were high in the tower. As Ginny and Hermione walked away from the desk, they went past paintings of captured princesses awaiting their handsome princes to awake them from enchanted sleep or to climb their golden locks of hair or to rescue them from fire-breathing dragons. Hermione shook her head at these pictures.
"It's no wonder you've got yourself all tangled up, with nothing but these romance novel paintings staring at you all day long. Come take a look at what I've done to the ones in my dorm room, Ginny."
Hermione grinned as she ushered Ginny into her room. "Lavender and Parvati are always trying to change these back to their original look, but I've got a powerful charm over them!" In these paintings, the princesses were not waiting patiently for the handsome prince. Rapunzel's tower only had a rope made of blonde hair hanging from it, while you could see a close-shorn girl running into the forest with a look of triumph on her face. St. George looked on helplessly as the princess pulled a sword from the belly of a ferocious looking common Welsh dragon. Cinderella was idly leafing through a book entitled, _Be Your Own Fairy Godmother!_, as her stepsisters swept and mopped the floors.
"Ginny, I like Ron and Harry and Viktor and even Neville, but I don't have any plans to marry. I'm going to become an Auror, if they still need aurors by the time I'm done with school. And when the Death Eaters are all a thing of the past, I'm going to come back here and teach. Someday I'll be the headmistress of this school. Maybe I'll be like McGonagall and never marry."
"I know. And I don't really know what I want to do when I grow up. Hermione, I'm only 14 years old. But I'm so lonely. I need some friends, but no one here seems to like me much. I think they're all afraid that I'm possessed by you-know-who."
"Oh, I really hope that isn't true. But even in the wizarding world there can be some tiny little minds. Anyway, Ginny, I'm your friend! And you are like a little sister to me too..."
"Yeah, little sister, I'm everyone's little sister."
"Ginny, that's enough of this self pitying nonsense. You know that you are welcome to spend as much time with me as you like!"
"I am? Even when you and the boys have your heads together and you're whispering?"
"Even then. You're just as important to me as they are."
"Then, is it okay with you if I join you at the breakfast table tomorrow?" Ginny asked, looking hopeful.
"It's completely fine with me!" Hermione smiled.
"Oh, thank you Hermione!" Ginny cried, hugging her friend. "That's the best news I've heard all year! I better get back to my potions homework, though. Can you help me figure out where I might find something called 'vinegar'?"
Hermione laughed, "I think my mum has a bottle of it in her cooking cupboard, Ginny."
As they walked back to Ginny's dorm room, Ginny's heart was light. She knew that she had a great friend in Hermione. And tomorrow she'd eat breakfast with her. And Ron. And Harry!!!
Ginny Weasley was in a bad way. She could see her brothers having the time of their lives at Hogwarts - Percy had been Prefect and Head Boy, Fred and George always had their jokes and their funny friends and a twin brother to keep them company. And Ron had Harry. Lucky Ron, his best friend was the most interesting kid in the whole school. A hero in the battle against evil and a hero on the quidditch field, any girl at school would love to get to know him better. Ginny sighed to herself as she thought about Harry for the fifteenth time that day.
"Kid, you have got to get over this silly childish crush and get on with your life!"
If only it were that easy. Sigh. Maybe if she had a good friend, she wouldn't feel so lonely and she'd have something else to think about other than Harry Potter. The girls in Gryffindor weren't really interested in her, though. Lavender and Parvati kept to themselves and giggled constantly. Angelina and Katie and Alicia were all nice enough, but they were total jocks. All they ever wanted to talk about was quidditch. And quidditch made her think of Harry. Oh, Harry! If only he thought of her as anything other than Ron's little sister.
"Hey, Earth to Ginny, are you there?" It was Hermione Granger, Ron and Harry's friend. "What's going on in your mind that's more interesting than your Potions homework?"
"Ha! I think that the life cycle of the flobberworm would be more interesting than my Potions homework, Hermione. Why does Snape think we need to learn anything as mundane as a potion to banish dandelions from the garden?"
"Well, Ginny, you never know when you might have a horrible over-cropping of dandelions. Maybe they're mad evil dandelions that want to take over the world, and you're the only one who can stop them if you have the correct combination of ingredients!"
Both girls laughed. "I'm glad you came along, Hermione. I was feeling sorry for myself."
"Oh, there's no point in that, Ginny, it just wastes time you could be using doing something really interesting or important. Why just a few minutes ago, I was down in the kitchen talking to the house elves and they're really starting to pay attention to me now..." Ginny wasn't listening anymore. Hermione always had some great scheme to liberate the house elves or to have the best grades in school or to be right at Harry's side just when he needed a partner in crime. Ginny sighed again.
"...and Dobby has them convinced that clothing might not be such a bad idea. Of course he has a hundred different pairs of socks.. and... what's wrong Ginny..?"
"Hermione, do you like Harry?"
"Of course I like Harry! He's one of my best friends!"
"No, you know what I mean. Do you *like* Harry?"
"Oh! Oh, no, not like that. He's fun to be with, but he doesn't even know I'm a girl. He's still a kid, Ginny, he's not thinking about dating and stuff like that. Remember at the Yule Ball, when he only danced once with Parvati and then ditched her in favor of Ron for the rest of the night?"
"Yeah, I know. Ok, I just wondered..."
"Anyway, you know about Viktor."
"Yeah, Viktor." Ginny made a face.
"What? What's wrong with Viktor?" Hermione asked, looking a bit offended.
"Oh, nothing. I mean, obviously he's the best Seeker in the world according to my brothers, but isn't he a bit... old for you? You aren't really serious about him, are you Hermione?"
"Well, I'm not in love with him, if that's what you mean. Still, he's very interesting. He's so intense, with those dark moods and that thick Bulgarian accent..."
"Hermione, what if Ron asked you for a date? Would you go out with him?"
"Ron? That's a funny one. He's even more unaware of my gender than Harry is. No, Ron will never ask me for a date, Ginny. He thinks I'm one of the guys."
Ginny shook her head at Hermione. "I don't think so. I've seen him looking at you differently since Christmas. I think he really likes you." Ginny sighed. "Maybe it's just wishful thinking."
"You want Ron to like me?" Hermione asked, a little pink in the face.
"Sure, Hermione. You're the only friend I have here. Maybe if you and Ron got married someday, we would be sisters. I'd really like to have you for a sister."
Hermione laughed and gave Ginny a quick squeeze around her shoulders.
"If you need a sister, Ginny, you always know where to find me. I'm right in the next room from September until June. And I'm only an owl post away during the summer."
"I know that, Hermione...," Ginny said, with tears starting to pool up in her eyes.
"Oh, Ginny! What's wrong? Please don't cry! Let's go take a walk and you can tell me what's on your mind."
The girl's dormitories at Gryffindor House were high in the tower. As Ginny and Hermione walked away from the desk, they went past paintings of captured princesses awaiting their handsome princes to awake them from enchanted sleep or to climb their golden locks of hair or to rescue them from fire-breathing dragons. Hermione shook her head at these pictures.
"It's no wonder you've got yourself all tangled up, with nothing but these romance novel paintings staring at you all day long. Come take a look at what I've done to the ones in my dorm room, Ginny."
Hermione grinned as she ushered Ginny into her room. "Lavender and Parvati are always trying to change these back to their original look, but I've got a powerful charm over them!" In these paintings, the princesses were not waiting patiently for the handsome prince. Rapunzel's tower only had a rope made of blonde hair hanging from it, while you could see a close-shorn girl running into the forest with a look of triumph on her face. St. George looked on helplessly as the princess pulled a sword from the belly of a ferocious looking common Welsh dragon. Cinderella was idly leafing through a book entitled, _Be Your Own Fairy Godmother!_, as her stepsisters swept and mopped the floors.
"Ginny, I like Ron and Harry and Viktor and even Neville, but I don't have any plans to marry. I'm going to become an Auror, if they still need aurors by the time I'm done with school. And when the Death Eaters are all a thing of the past, I'm going to come back here and teach. Someday I'll be the headmistress of this school. Maybe I'll be like McGonagall and never marry."
"I know. And I don't really know what I want to do when I grow up. Hermione, I'm only 14 years old. But I'm so lonely. I need some friends, but no one here seems to like me much. I think they're all afraid that I'm possessed by you-know-who."
"Oh, I really hope that isn't true. But even in the wizarding world there can be some tiny little minds. Anyway, Ginny, I'm your friend! And you are like a little sister to me too..."
"Yeah, little sister, I'm everyone's little sister."
"Ginny, that's enough of this self pitying nonsense. You know that you are welcome to spend as much time with me as you like!"
"I am? Even when you and the boys have your heads together and you're whispering?"
"Even then. You're just as important to me as they are."
"Then, is it okay with you if I join you at the breakfast table tomorrow?" Ginny asked, looking hopeful.
"It's completely fine with me!" Hermione smiled.
"Oh, thank you Hermione!" Ginny cried, hugging her friend. "That's the best news I've heard all year! I better get back to my potions homework, though. Can you help me figure out where I might find something called 'vinegar'?"
Hermione laughed, "I think my mum has a bottle of it in her cooking cupboard, Ginny."
As they walked back to Ginny's dorm room, Ginny's heart was light. She knew that she had a great friend in Hermione. And tomorrow she'd eat breakfast with her. And Ron. And Harry!!!